无包装产品:如何重新填充商店可以帮助解决塑料危机

这篇文章是系列文章的一部分，着眼于越来越多的塑料包装替代品的可用性. 了解越来越多的创业公司开发可回收包装概念的新方法, click here. To read about the innovators reimagining the products themselves, click here.

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一次性塑料制品在我们的日常生活中无处不在——从咖啡杯盖和杂货袋到我们在杂货店买的水果和蔬菜的翻盖包装——很难想象没有它们的未来.

但是，一个没有这些塑料的世界可能并不像看起来那么遥远. 从那些商业模式完全建立在零浪费概念上的小而不断增长的商店中，我们可以窥见这个世界.

“再填充店”是“称重付费”购物概念的一种变体, 顾客可以在没有任何包装的情况下拿起他们需要的东西. 通常储存食品和/或家庭和个人护理产品(洗衣粉), shampoo, skincare products, soap, toothpaste, etc.), 再灌装店允许顾客根据自己的需要在自己的容器里装上尽可能多或尽可能少的产品, and pay for the product by weight. Distinguishing them from most other forms of low-impact retail, 再灌装厂也经常返回他们的空散装容器，由产品制造商重新灌装, thus creating a “closed-loop packaging system.”

续杯店这个概念的有趣之处并不在于它的新颖(不是 really 这是一个新的想法——在塑料成为一种东西之前，它的变体就已经存在了)，而是随着越来越多的人寻找减少塑料使用的方法，这类商店现在在世界各地出现的速度.

Googling “refillery near me” from my desk in Long Beach, California, brings up a whole range of these kinds of stores in the local area. A “refillery and low waste goods boutique,” BYO Long Beach [BYO = bring your own] has three stores across the city selling a wide selection of products, including cleaning products, personal care products, teas, herbs, spices and other household basics. Just up the road in west LA, Refillery Los Angeles – a “refill bar and zero waste store” – sells laundry liquids, personal care and other products in bulk, by the ounce, 他还开着一辆加油车，把水送到顾客家里. Sonora Refillery down in Oceanside sells body, bath and home product refills, as does My Zero Waste Store in Pasadena and Eco-Now -“奥兰治县第一家零废物商店和补给站”-在科斯塔梅萨和阿纳海姆都有商店, plus another about to open in Laguna Beach.

Admittedly, 南加州并不能完全代表整个国家, 但现在在北美各地都可以找到各种类似的续杯店概念, Europe and elsewhere. Zero-waste resource hub Litterless provides a state-by-state, city-by-city list 这类商店在美国已经有几百家了. Let’s Go Zero Waste has a directory of stores spanning the U.S. and Canada, and the Sustainable Collective provides a map of stores all over the world.

In the U.K., Unpckd 这是众多新兴的续杯店之一，通过送货上门服务，为那些想要更有意识、更方便地购物的家庭提供续杯服务吗.” Advertising “the convenience of online shopping without the waste,” Unpckd delivers package-free dry food, toiletries and cleaning products in returnable, reusable containers: “You order online, we deliver to your doorstep, 你还可以从你的储存容器中倒入饮料，不用包装, no waste. 当你需要续杯时，我们会像送奶工一样，把满杯换成空杯.”

另一个“称重和支付”概念的变体是一家位于康涅狄格州的公司 BD Provisions, which has stores in Newtown, Conn., and New Milford, Conn. The idea behind this business was, its founders say, “采用散装食品的概念，但将其提升到更多的美食天堂, at affordable prices and with eco-friendly packaging.” The result was to merge a “gourmet, specialty market with an environmentally friendly zero waste shop,“提供”精心策划的散装食品，按磅出售，装在可持续的容器里.”

BD Provisions与大多数其他零废物商店之间的一个关键区别是, 除了康涅狄格州的两家店，以及即将在马里兰州开业的另一家店，其创始人还开发了一家 franchising system 借此，他们为寻求建立类似商店的特许经营商提供培训和支持. 这种支持的形式是在房地产和选址方面提供帮助, store build-out/construction, training systems, operational support, recipe development, marketing and brand building, vendor and equipment selection, point of sale systems, pre-opening/grand opening support and business consulting. 这样的安排可以在帮助零废物储存概念达到必要的规模以显著减少塑料危机方面发挥重要作用.

The environmental case for this kind of retail is obvious. The use of refillable containers and refill pouches creates major reductions in plastics use. 再填充也需要更少的存储空间，从而减少了与运输相关的财务和环境成本. And they bring savings for consumers too. Refill stores often have lower overheads, 事实上，制造商不必为生产包装支付费用，这节省了成本，可以转嫁给消费者. And reduced trash means fewer taxpayer dollars spent on garbage disposal and environmental cleanup services.

Global public opinion today is overwhelmingly in favor of putting an end to single-use plastics. 只要人们仍然认为没有现实的选择, however, doing so on a mass scale will be a monumental struggle. But there are already alternatives. 再灌装只是减少一次性塑料包装的众多新想法之一, 在鼓励无包装零售的明智政策的帮助下, 更多的美国人将有机会看到没有一次性塑料的未来会是什么样子.